Night Criu [LP] (Pink Vinyl)

Hilary Woods - Night Criu [LP] (Pink Vinyl)

Following two acclaimed experimental instrumental records in Feral Hymns (2021) and Acts of Light (2023) Hilary Woods returns on her new LP Night CRIUs to song form and most notably to her voice. Relearning how to use it and crafting songs centered around it Night CRIUs intimate ecosystem of seven songs uses vocal harmony and the annunciation of lyrics as ways to re-enter the body to speak to and make the unconscious conscious. A ceremony of light and shade Night CRIUs is a record that riles against bludgeoning monoculture in its reclaiming and mourning a lost innocence all at once. Woods sonic palette is both dynamic and vulnerable in its reaching to integrate lost and splintered parts of the whole. Unmoored sonic threads recall the cracks fringes forgotten agency and layered dormant personas that surface at night waiting to be retrieved and integrated come daylight. Inspired and energised by many things including the revival of indigenous language a personal history of attending parades and processions early Irish music the joy in Northern Soul dancing aspects of Czech and early Italian cinema the immediacy of sound and the rising up of a present moment collective in their vocalising and standing up for what it means to be human in the face of tyranny and oppression Night CRIUs was recorded between the west coast of Ireland Dublin London and in part Latvia between 2023 and January 2025. Canticles for voice brass strings electronics field recordings texture synths and piano these songs were chosen from many early home recordings that Woods held up as mirrors of juxtaposition to each other. Written and produced by Hilary Woods Night CRIUs is mixed by Dean Hurley with additional production by Dean Hurley and Oliver Turvey mastered by Brian Lucey and featuring work by Hannah Fallon Hangleton Brass Band Gabriel Ferrandini and Ajo Gonsenica. Each record is a life buoy a snapshot a marker in the sand a date that requires me to meet it according to Woods A raft at once cathartic buoyant and playful making records is a way of being.